A discussion forum for the latest detector from Minelab. Please share your knowledge of the new machine and possibly point out the differences to users already familiar with the Minelab Explorer.http://www.findmall.com/list.php?63Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:19:12 -0600 Phorum 5.2-dev http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1094501,1094501#msg-1094501 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1094501,1094501#msg-1094501First a little background:
Long Island, NY has a settlement history that dates back to the mid 1600's, with both Revolutionary War and Civil War action. Most of the tracts of land have been developed or converted to State/local parks with detecting prohibited. However, Long Island did have a long history of farming and there still remains a significant number of working farms "out East". I have only been detecting since mid June of this year starting out on the ocean beaches with an Excalibur and have since migrated to the dirt with an E-Trac that I purchased in September. I like to tell my friends and family that I am now hunting for "history" as opposed to hunting for "misery" (as in someones lost jewelry)...

This past Wednesday, I was fortunate enough to be invited to detect a working farm about 90 minutes away with a new friend that has been detecting for over 25 years and hunting this farm with permission for the last 15. When we got there we were very excited to see that the majority of the land had already been turned. Rain from the prior few days made the ground flat and conditions almost perfect for swinging and digging. It almost felt as if we were on the farm fields of Colchester, England (if any of you have watched the videos from Chicago Ron).

Very quickly, within 10 minutes, I got my first solid repeatable signal at about 8". Screen read 12/44 - I knew I had copper, only I didn't know what. Within 20 seconds I was holding my first large copper - of course NO RUBBING - the dirt stayed on. I was ecstatic. The "rush" I got was incredible. Basically my day was made - I had told my wife the night before my objective was a large penny and I had gotten one almost immediately. The hunting progressed as we moved among two fields encompassing about 50+ acres and the signals continued. I found two more large coppers (12/41-12/43) PLUS three large silver coins (12/46-47) - two of them larger than a modern quarter and one very thin and slightly curved about the size of a quarter - again NO RUBBING - the dirt stayed on. Add a couple of buttons and some bits and pieces of brass/copper and it was 5 hours later and time to head on home. My hunting buddies didn't find any coins but turned up a number of great military buttons and a 1700's era shoe buckle - totally intact and in perfect condition...a good day was had by all. And now to the good part.

When I got home, I was so excited and quickly emptied the top pocket of my hunting coverall's and took out my four coins (I know I mentioned six just before) and went right for the sink and the ultrasound machine. The coins were/are badly encrusted. I must have used the ultrasound machine for 30 min. Still looking at the coins I could not make anything out. However using the magnifying glass I was able to make out a left facing bust and the words GEORGIVS on the left side of the coin....what the heck - immediately hit the internet - YEP, it's a British half penny, and from the way the bust is facing and the letters are positioned it could only be from the 1729-1754 George II minting. WOW - now that's an old coin....BUT there's more - as I begin to study the second big copper, even more encrusted then the first, I start to make out the pattern and I'm astonished - it's the same pattern - a second George II British half penny - are you kidding me - two amazing coins but both in terrible condition - have not seen the dates yet on the reverse side. Now onto the two silver coins. I cannot get any information off of either of them. They are really in bad shape. All I can say is that the larger one is oblong 28mmx27mm and the other is very thin and curved at about 25mm - I have no clue what they could possibly be.

Oh - and about the other two coins, I happened to find them in another pocket of my coveralls yesterday while cleaning up my stuff (I totally forgot how many coins I had found)...it's the third silver very, very badly corroded and, you guessed it - what I had originally longed and hoped for - a US large cent - in decent condition, 1818 - now soaking in olive oil....if anyone has any clues about getting the corrosion/crud etc off of the coppers and the silvers I'm all ears. I tried electrolysis (12V, 840ma) for about 15 minutes to no avail and hydrogen peroxide to no avail. At this point it's not about value it's about identification - thanks for allowing me to share my story and excitement - non-hobbyists just don't seem to share in the excitement of the finds as we detectorists do...HH to all.]]> barryny Minelab E-Trac ForumFri, 20 Nov 2009 15:08:19 -0600 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1094315,1094315#msg-1094315 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1094315,1094315#msg-1094315Here's a question for you Tech guy's ---

Minelab say's that we should hold our detectors 12" off the ground when Noise Canceling.
The question in the other forum is why don't we Noise Cancel at ground level - the same level where we use the detectors ?]]> E-TRAC-OHIO Minelab E-Trac ForumFri, 20 Nov 2009 16:18:31 -0600 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1093995,1093995#msg-1093995 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1093995,1093995#msg-1093995 Nick A Minelab E-Trac ForumFri, 20 Nov 2009 15:16:07 -0600 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1093955,1093955#msg-1093955 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1093955,1093955#msg-1093955 mikeeatsbugs Minelab E-Trac ForumFri, 20 Nov 2009 09:10:17 -0600 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1093573,1093573#msg-1093573 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1093573,1093573#msg-1093573(This message does not contain any text.)
]]> Gary in Daytona Minelab E-Trac ForumFri, 20 Nov 2009 09:23:26 -0600 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1093375,1093375#msg-1093375 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1093375,1093375#msg-1093375How do you tell the difference between the two. What are some of the tricks, I am new to the etrac and am still learning lots. Thanks]]> etracmick Minelab E-Trac ForumThu, 19 Nov 2009 10:59:02 -0600 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1093156,1093156#msg-1093156 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1093156,1093156#msg-1093156 Coach Minelab E-Trac ForumThu, 19 Nov 2009 12:58:41 -0600 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1092998,1092998#msg-1092998 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1092998,1092998#msg-1092998 mikeeatsbugs Minelab E-Trac ForumWed, 18 Nov 2009 20:36:34 -0600 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1092322,1092322#msg-1092322 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1092322,1092322#msg-1092322 dig it DanO Minelab E-Trac ForumTue, 17 Nov 2009 18:14:25 -0600 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1092277,1092277#msg-1092277 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1092277,1092277#msg-1092277 L8Braker Minelab E-Trac ForumTue, 17 Nov 2009 14:59:13 -0600 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1092138,1092138#msg-1092138 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1092138,1092138#msg-1092138

]]> gibsondan Minelab E-Trac ForumThu, 19 Nov 2009 17:21:45 -0600 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1092120,1092120#msg-1092120 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1092120,1092120#msg-1092120
]]> NiagracountyNY Minelab E-Trac ForumTue, 17 Nov 2009 18:17:55 -0600 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1091958,1091958#msg-1091958 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1091958,1091958#msg-1091958
Now to answer a question posed a while back by digitrich,yes I have found that ultra deep coins give a warble or what I call a mottled or slightly broken/spongy signal.Once you get on to this type signal and realize it could very well be a deep coin instead of iron your old coin count will go way up,at least it did for me.I discovered this early on when I was hunting a old long gone park in a private pasture where I was comfortable digging a lot of iffy targets with a nice sharp relic shovel and many oversized plugs.

It is more pronounced on deep Indians/coppers than silver but does it as well on silver.I think the less than text book perfect signal is why a lot of folks are having trouble getting the extra deep coins and the Indians for sure.Also another important thing is to not get to dependant on the ID numbers as they are nice but only part of the info your machine sends to your brain to be processed.Get the best ear phones you can afford and learn all the various tones,sounds,lack of sounds and many combinations thereof.

I posted a number of times early on about how much your ability with the E-Trac could/ would improve if you could get an old site with deep targets that was private and the digging of a lot of deep larger than normal holes would be acceptable.Doing this is the only really good way I know of to learn what your machine is saying on those ultra deep sometimes broken up signals.

I learned more the first 2 hours testing this way than many days spent hunting previously.Will you dig more junk going for these almost ghostly targets/signals? Yes and most definitely YES but your older better coin count will also go up and for me that is what detecting is all about.Old coins and rellics are what excite me and not just the valluable ones as I love to dig those old crusty Indians as well.

I am far from an expert but have had good success with my E-Trac that far surpasses any of the previous top line units I put hundreds of hours on.One more very important point I want to mention as well.Even though I have gotten good depth with my E-Trac I feel where it outshines all other machines i have used is in it's phenominal ability to pull a great many coins at moderate depths out of some of the most trashy heavily hunted public parks and similar sites for me.

I have actually marked off several extremely iron infested 20' x 20' plots and went over them from several different angles/directions with multiple size coils on the F75,CZ3D,Explorer 11,SE Pro , Vision and then went over them with the E-Trac and got several good targets that I assume were to heavily masked for the previous machines.I did these tests as fairly as I know how and was using a high quality all metal Uniprobe PI pocket probe to pinpoint with.That in itself was a great eye opener as I could tell just how many iron/trash targets were in close proxemity to the desireable target and recover them as well.

I guess what I am saying besides the obvious fact that I am sold on the E-Tacs abilities is that if you want to get the best out of any top end machine you need to do your homework with the manual and online info and then you must do extensive infield trials and tests at actual sites you plan to hunt.After that you must put in many,many hours at those same sites honing your skills on said machine and stick with it.I feel that most people are not going to have the time or patience (myself included) to really master several machines so we need to stick with one or 2 at most to truly master them to the best of our abilities.

I only posted this to be of possible help to those who want to find more goodies and for no other reason as I do not sell any brand of machine and never have.My passion for detecting is all about finding the older coins and relics that may be lost at any given site,Ray.]]> Ray-Mo. Minelab E-Trac ForumFri, 20 Nov 2009 15:12:09 -0600 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1091494,1091494#msg-1091494 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1091494,1091494#msg-1091494
]]> NiagracountyNY Minelab E-Trac ForumMon, 16 Nov 2009 23:06:44 -0600 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1091308,1091308#msg-1091308 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1091308,1091308#msg-1091308 Ray-Mo. Minelab E-Trac ForumWed, 18 Nov 2009 16:37:21 -0600 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1091265,1091265#msg-1091265 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1091265,1091265#msg-1091265 CONDUCTOR7E Minelab E-Trac ForumTue, 17 Nov 2009 07:44:34 -0600 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1091225,1091225#msg-1091225 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1091225,1091225#msg-1091225
I was in NYC working all week and came home with a cold and it rained 23 hours in southern connecticut yesterday....

So... it had been 7 days since I touched my Etrac.... I headed out to a local school built in the 30's that I had spent very little time at...

The wheat pennies piled up today.... 15 of them! '35, '37, '40, '41, '41, '41, '41, '42, '45, '45, '45, '46, '50D, '56D, and '56D

One of the wheats was attached to a silver war nickel.... '45D

You can see the where the penny was sitting under the nickel...

Totals for the day were nice... 19 Quarters... 20 Dimes... 5 nickels... and 44 pennies.... 88 coins for $7.44...

On to the gold.... (in the plug...)

My 1st thought was... wow... not what I was expecting :-)

The hallmark is there.... what the.... XXX and a sideways W .... hmmmm....

Looks like gold... feels like gold.... here is what I found out so far about this hallmark...

There are a few posts around the internet concerning this hallmark...

Mar 29, 2009
CSHartman wrote:
I have a gold band (don't know if real). No gold content marking. Has mark on inside of band with a sideways capital W and then XXX. Can anyone help me?

I HAVE A BAND LIKE THIS TOO. THE W ACCORDING TO MY RESERCH IS FOR THE JR WOOD & SONS JEWELRY COMPANY OF BROOKLYN NY. I WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE XXX STANDS FOR, SO GOOD LUCK AND HOPEFULLY SOMEONE WILL RESPOND.

Interesting - as I have the same type - Mother told me that it had been her fathers but don't know what the imprint means

I also own a similar ring I inherited from my grandmother. After much research I have learned the sideways w stands for J.R. Wood and Sons Jewellers from New York City.

I just purchased a Gaelic Irish 14k wedding band with the same xxx with sideways W. I thought it might be an inscription but don't know. Have you found out what it means yet? Thanks!

Victorian c. 1900 Rose Gold Cigar Band Wedding Ring. Alternating panels of Leaf and Scroll design. Very light etched initials D C (not sure if it's a D). there is a mark inside "XXX with a sideways W".

Yep.. I assume its gold at this point and will get it to a tester this week :-)

Happy Hunting!
Paul
]]> FooserPaul Minelab E-Trac ForumTue, 17 Nov 2009 17:27:04 -0600 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1091138,1091138#msg-1091138 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1091138,1091138#msg-1091138I decided to go back to the same spot that has produced the majority of my silver this year. After finding this 1923 Mecury dime yesterday (my oldest silver so far) :clapping: , I'm now up to 9 silvers from this spot alone . I also found 2 wheat backs, 1957D, and 1958. I started out committed not to dig anything shallower than 6 inches, and I also tried boosting my sensitivity in manual up to 28. Well neither strategy worked for this turf, and the only deep target was a rusty nail :ranting:. I believe there's just too much deep iron in the ground for this strategy to work at this site. Operating at manual sensitivity 28 on my E-Trac caused too many false signals, and I suspect it was made worse by yesterday's rain. So I reverted back to Auto+3 and enjoyed a smooth ride from then on. I stopped avoiding shallow targets just in time to find the Merc, which was less than 2 inches in the ground. Now I wonder if there are any good targets below 6 inches? But that will just have to wait for another day. Thanks for looking!

-Alex]]> akelley Minelab E-Trac ForumWed, 18 Nov 2009 20:19:43 -0600 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1090987,1090987#msg-1090987 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1090987,1090987#msg-1090987
Anywho, Thanks!]]> SandPhantom Minelab E-Trac ForumSun, 15 Nov 2009 14:57:06 -0600 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1090946,1090946#msg-1090946 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1090946,1090946#msg-1090946
Thanks

Jason]]> JASONSPAZ1 Minelab E-Trac ForumSun, 15 Nov 2009 19:08:10 -0600 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1090912,1090912#msg-1090912 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1090912,1090912#msg-1090912 Coach Minelab E-Trac ForumMon, 16 Nov 2009 08:11:02 -0600 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1090215,1090215#msg-1090215 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1090215,1090215#msg-1090215 SWMO Mark Minelab E-Trac ForumMon, 16 Nov 2009 10:50:11 -0600 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1089764,1089764#msg-1089764 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1089764,1089764#msg-1089764 ashdigger Minelab E-Trac ForumWed, 18 Nov 2009 07:38:43 -0600 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1089728,1089728#msg-1089728 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1089728,1089728#msg-1089728So my finds for the two weeks that I have had the Etrac have been pretty good. I have been working some old fresh water beaches and coming up with pennies at atleast 9", some deeper. I am near the waters edge and get signals, some of which at first I thought were errant signals, but being determined to learn the machine I have been stunned to pull out these coins at great depths. I know you have seen the blogs on how deep stuff is with the Minelab but it is true. I have also pulled out some IH's, and an awesome mens white and gold ring. One 2 hour period found 50 coins on one 150' x 50' beach.
I am still looking for my first Large cent but I am confident that this machine will help me pull it out of the earth. I am certainly glad to have been shown the Minelab and will be happy for a long while. Thanks to NHBob for your time and letting me see the Minelab up close before buying.]]> etracmick Minelab E-Trac ForumFri, 13 Nov 2009 20:01:30 -0600 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1089688,1089688#msg-1089688 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1089688,1089688#msg-1089688

here is a video of our hunt as well


]]> Goes4ever Minelab E-Trac ForumSat, 14 Nov 2009 00:26:00 -0600 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1089621,1089621#msg-1089621 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1089621,1089621#msg-1089621 AL KS Minelab E-Trac ForumThu, 12 Nov 2009 21:47:25 -0600 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1089260,1089260#msg-1089260 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1089260,1089260#msg-1089260 buckeyetreasurehunter Minelab E-Trac ForumThu, 12 Nov 2009 18:01:15 -0600 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1088849,1088849#msg-1088849 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1088849,1088849#msg-1088849 Ray-Mo. Minelab E-Trac ForumFri, 13 Nov 2009 09:26:17 -0600 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1088661,1088661#msg-1088661 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1088661,1088661#msg-1088661
I would like to carry...

Etrac with stock coil and SunRay Probe
8x6 SEF coil
15X12 SEF coil
2 Sets of headphones (Grey Ghosts, RATphones)
Belt with trash pouch, Lesche, and zippered pouch (holds loop, baggies, camera, etc)
Lesche shovel (32" long I think)
Kneepads
Battery pack

Would like a bag to hold this stuff, with an emphasis on keeping the coil of my choice on the E-trac. Thanks!]]> moseng Minelab E-Trac ForumThu, 19 Nov 2009 20:32:28 -0600 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1087872,1087872#msg-1087872 http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,1087872,1087872#msg-1087872over8" deep. Have a little more confidence in the ET now. I know i was over these finds at least three times with my EPII , the id # on the ET were not on but the sound is what got me dig. So now i've got a little better handle on what the ET is telling me. Still digging a lot of junk in the pull tab and foil range hoping for gold :unsure:]]> AL KS Minelab E-Trac ForumFri, 13 Nov 2009 06:13:39 -0600